TIRUPATTUR: The Tirupattur District and Sessions Court on Tuesday deferred the verdict in the 2015 Ambur violence case to Thursday. As the verdict was originally expected on Tuesday, more than 1,000 policemen were deployed under Vellore and Tirupattur SPs across the district from the morning for security.
The case pertains to riots that broke out following the death of 26-year-old Shameel Ahamed in 2015, who had been taken in for questioning by Pallikonda police in connection with a missing woman’s case and later succumbed to injuries allegedly sustained in police custody. His relatives and Islamic organisations alleged custodial torture and staged protests on National Highway in Ambur, which turned violent.
Protestors set fire to two police jeeps, a mini-bus, four two-wheelers, and a TASMAC outlet. The windshields of several government and private buses, as well as an ambulance, were damaged in stone-pelting. Some protestors also ransacked two private hospitals nearby and attacked Ambur Town police station. Police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse the mob.
As many as 38 police personnel, including women officers, were injured in the clash. Police arrested 95 youngsters in connection with the incident. In total, seven cases were registered against 105 individuals under sections 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting while armed with deadly weapon), 294(b) (obscenity in public), 506(ii) (serious forms of criminal intimidation), 353 (assault to prevent public servant for discharging their duty), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), and 307 (Attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.